Magnify Gravity: You’ve Put On Weight
Usable By: Wizard
Spell Level: 1
School: Transmutation (dunamancy:graviturgy)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Duration: 1 round
Components: V, S
The gravity in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you can see within range increases for a moment. Each creature in the sphere on the turn when you cast the spell must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d8 force damage, and its speed is halved until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and suffers no reduction to its speed.
Until the start of your next turn, any object that isn't being worn or carried in the sphere requires a successful Strength check against your spell save DC to pick up or move.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 1st.
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Explorer’s Guide to Wildemont is a mixed bag of content for me; I really love a lot of the ideas put out, but there are a handful of big misses. The gaviturgy stuff all tends to be some of my favorite stuff here. Magnify Gravity is an excellent example as to why.
Magnify Gravity takes the low level area of effect damage numbers, adds a unique, potentially powerful condition to it, and mixes it together with clear flavor to exceptional effect. This spell feels like you’re adding crushing weight to the incoming enemies; it FEELS right to slow them down, crush their bones, make them struggle to pick things up. It helps that 2d8 damage in a 10 ft. radius sphere is outclassing Frost Fingers by leagues, and while not quite up to par on Burning Hands damage wise, there will be moments where creatures between fifty to sixty feet from you will have to spend an entire extra turn to even get within melee striking distance. With a coordinated party, this could also act as a more permanent form of disarming; instead of a creature simply spending part of its action picking it up as an interaction with an object, it needs to make a save, and should it fail, fail to arm itself again and need to waste even more turns fumbling about.
There will be plenty of encounters where this condition won’t really matter, but definitely enough that will make it something you’re fine preparing regularly. This is an effect that even when you can’t get mileage out of it, the damage is still good enough for the slot you’re willing to take it, especially in the first few levels. Like most first level damage spells this isn’t really something you ever want to have to up-cast, especially given how many spells wizards can end up getting to pick from. In the upper tiers, there still might be moments where you want to deny a creature picking something dangerous up; that makes this spell something you’d consider keeping all throughout the game. That’s all you can ask for out of a 1st level spell.
Magnify Gravity is one of the best designed spells in Explorer’s Guide to Wildemont. If you’re a low level wizard looking for some new toys, this one will not disappoint.
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